Long after the 1998 World Cup was won, disappointed fans were still cursing the disputed refereeing decisions that denied victory to their team. A researcher was appointed to study the performance of some top referees.
在1998年世界杯夺冠很久之后，失望的球迷们仍在咒骂那些争议的判罚决定否决了他们的球队胜利。一名研究人员被指定来研究一些顶级裁判的表现。
The researcher organized an experimental tournament involving four youth teams. Each match lasted an hour, divided into three periods of 20 minutes during which different referees were in charge.
研究人员组织了一次由四支青年队参加的实验性锦标赛。每场比赛持续一个小时，分为三个20分钟的时段，由不同的裁判负责。
Observers noted down the referees’ errors, of which there were 61 over the tournament. Converted to a standard match of 90 minutes, each referee made almost 23 mistakes, a remarkably high number.
观察员注意到裁判的失误，其中有61次失误。换算成90分钟的标准比赛，每个裁判都犯了近23个错误，这是一个非常高的数字。
The researcher then studied the videotapes to analyse the matches in detail. Surprisingly, he found that errors were more likely when the referees were close to the incident. When the officials got it right, they were, on average, 17 meters away from the action. The average distance in the case of errors was 12 meters. The research shows the optimum distance is about 20 meters.
研究人员随后研究了录像带，详细分析了比赛情况。令人惊讶的是，他发现当裁判接近事件时，失误的可能性更大。当裁判正确时，他们距离事件的平均距离为17米。在出现错误的情况下，平均距离为12米。研究表明最佳距离约为20米。
There also seemed to be an optimum speed. Correct decisions came when the referees were moving at a speed of about 2 meters per second. The average speed for errors was 4 meters per second.
看起来还有一个最佳速度。当裁判以大约每秒2米的速度移动时，做出了正确的判罚。出现错误的平均速度为每秒4米。
If FIFA, football’s international ruling body, wants to improve the standard of refereeing at the next World Cup, it should encourage referees to keep their eyes on the action from a distance, rather than rushing to keep up with the ball, the researcher argues.
研究人员认为，如果国际足联想在下一届世界杯上提高裁判水平，就应该鼓励裁判从远处关注比赛，而不是急于跟上球的速度。
He also says that FIFA’s insistence that referees should retire at age 45 may be misguided. If keeping up with the action is not so important, their physical condition is less critical.
他还说，国际足联坚持裁判应该在45岁时退役可能是错误的。如果跟上事件不那么重要，那么他们的身体状况就不那么重要了。
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